Figs in Winter
Dec 11, 2024

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Hermes, you are of course more than welcome to pass on Stoicism. But I think you need to be careful not to get bogged down by the admittedly unusual Stoic terminology. First, happiness *is* a good. But the Stoics think it’s an inside job, meaning that it depends on one’s attitudes, not on external factors. Second, external factors do play a role in life, but because they are largely outside of our control, our best bet is to focus on what we can control. Third, people immediately jump to extreme examples, like the 200 people who died in Valencia, or the Holocaust. But even in those cases, the work of psychotherapists like Viktor Frankl clearly show that internal resilience is the key to recovery and, ultimately, happiness.

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Figs in Winter
Figs in Winter

Written by Figs in Winter

by Massimo Pigliucci, a scientist, philosopher, and Professor at the City College of New York. Exploring and practicing Stoicism & other philosophies of life.

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